ON SUNDAY afternoon, the sun shone warmly on Ocho Rios and the Almond Tree Gardens seemed like the perfect place to be on a warm Sunday afternoon. The property, which also features a restaurant, boasts a variety of fruit and other trees, such as bamboo, cherry, breadfruit, coconut, and banana along with several flowering plants, resulting in an idyllic effect. Thus, if there is any merit to pathetic fallacy, the beautiful day that greeted Ocho Rios last Sunday seemed to be in response to the wonderful day of jazz that awaited those who chose to venture forth.
The closing day of the festival, which had featured three themes, 'Marley en Jazz', 'Trumpet Summit' and the 'African Connection', featured at least two of the themes. The spectrum of music presented was rather broad, bringing in latin, reggae and various jazz rhythms.
The afternoon began with the performance of the Jamaica Big Band, which was conducted by Sonny Bradshaw. They began their performance with a swinging, slightly 'reggaerised' rendition of the National Anthem. Of course, everyone got to their feet when the performance began, although some persons seemed to have been taken by surprise that the anthem was being played. Nonetheless, the performance brought enthusiastic applause.
The band then moved into swing, with Take the A Train and then Satin Doll. Take the A Train is a fast energetic number which gave several instruments the chance to play lead, and thus changing the texture of the melody as it switched from the throaty growls of the trombone and upwards in pitch through the guitar, saxophone and piano. The Jamaica Big Band also provided a bit of ska with Rucumbine. This piece had one woman get to her feet and demonstrate just how it should be danced to.
The band also featured guests performers Cedric Brooks and Myrna Hague. Brooks, who had the night before been inducted into the festival's Hall of Fame, performed But Not For Me and Generation. Hague, on the other hand, performed Fly Me to The Moon and St. Louis Blues.
The day was also graced with the energetic latin rhythms brought by Saoco, who had earlier performed under the title The Miami Latinos. For their second performance in the festival, the band continued to feature Jamaica's own Noel Seale, who they had earlier met. The band also featured Byard Lancaster as another guest performer, who shared horn duties with Dustin Bayrd. Saoco's performance saw a few members of the audience, some couples and some trios, getting to their feet as the latin rhythms wafted across the gardens, beckoning all present to move.
They performed Mambo Suave, The Mous, Como Oje Va, and a Latin interpretation of I Shot The Sheriff. The band's rendition of I Shot the Sheriff was a clear demonstration of the flexibility of music. They began with a Salsa beat that in no way reminded of the reggae song but smoothly wove that into the I Shot The Sherriff rhythm. From here the reggae beat simply acted as a focal point from which the salsa beats would twirl out and come back again.
The Kingsley Etienne trio also contributed to the texture of the evening. The trio featured Ettienne on organ and piano, Archie Alleyne on drums and Doug Richardson on the Saxophone with a guest performance by Len Berkley, who also performed with the Jamaica Big Band, on trombone.
Although the performance was good, the trio's set was plagued by technical difficulties when the organ began to give trouble. At first, it was assumed that the problem would be quickly fixed. As such, Alleyne engaged in a very extended solo, holding the fort while the problem was addressed. Finally, he had to stop and Ettienne switched to the piano, much to the displeasure of the audience. After an extended break the organ was finally fixed and the trio was allowed to bring their set to an end.
Barbara Walker also brought her variety of soulful jazz to the afternoon. Walker was backed by members of the Ettienne Trio along with Len Berkley on trombone and Richie White on bass. She sang Ain't Nobody's Business, What A Difference A Day Makes and Darling You Send Me. Walker has a very deep soulful voice which she is able to change the timbre and pitch of with very dramatic effect. As such, her words were given such texture that they seemed to have a three dimensional quality.
Thus, even though the Jamaica Ocho Rios Festival continues to struggle in getting monetary support, they definitely have full talent support providing a feast of music for jazz lovers.
